Ifa: The Spiritual Tradition of Orisa and Ancestor Worship Part VIII
Are Ancestors Really That Powerful?
August 2018
Homage To The One Who Sends and to those who are sent! Homage to Orisa and Egun!
Ifokanbale Omo Orisa! Peace of Mind from Olodumare Children of Orisa!
Ire ati Ayo!
Good Tidings and Joyfulness!
I honor your gods, I drink from your wells, I bring an undefended heart to our meeting place. I have no cherished outcomes, I will not negotiate by withholding, and I am not subject to disappointment. I am here! And They are all here with me! Ase! Ase! Ase!
Lord of my Ancestors, I have no knowledge except that which is given to me through inspiration, that which is sent to me by way of an angel, and that which I am blessed to acquire by way of some discipline. I thank you for guiding my words, my thoughts, and my actions so that all that I say and do may serve to point the seekers in the right direction. Ase! Ase! Ase!
We’ve already discussed Ancestors and Ancestor Worship in several Posts this year. (Not that we will every exhaust the topic!). I recently gave an introductory lecture on Ifa: The Spiritual Tradition of Orisa and Ancestor Worship. The venue was a small storefront Interfaith Gathering space. During my talk I mentioned the fact that I was taught we should first carry our problems and concerns to our Ori, then to our Egun (Ancestors), and then to our Crown Orisa(s), acknowledging the Feminine/Matriarchal Principle first in the case of both Egun and Orisa, because the Feminine/Matriarchal Principle is the essence and executor of Isopo (connectivity). I also mentioned that our Egun can intercede in our affairs and can often respond in ways that the Orisa cannot. A woman in the audience, paying close attention to the topic exclaimed, ‘Wow! Are ancestors really that powerful?” Yes, I think they are! Lets consider this idea.
Ifa says that our Ori is our god, and that nothing can happen unless our Ori permits it! So, the Orisa cannot act towards us in any way that is not sanctioned (if not supported) by our Ori.
Ohun Ori wa se, koma ni s alai se eo!
What Ori comes to fulfill, it cannot but fulfill it!
Orisa will not override the will of our Ori. Their role in the life of human beings is to support the will of our Ori Apere (Carrier of Divine Destiny), our Spiritual Ori. Further, we choose our Orisa(s) before we come into the world. They are here, yet we bring them with us as part of our Ase Ami, our Energy Body! It is through our Ase Ami that we are able to achieve Isopo, connectivity with the spirit world. We can call on Orisa. We can supplicate Orisa. Orisa can even possess us (if our Ori permits it). But there exists a more intimate and powerful relationship than possession. It is the relationship of lineage, of blood!
All of the genetic memory of our ancestors, dating back to the beginning of human existence is in our blood, in our flesh, in every cell that becomes a part of our Ile Ojubo (Body Temple), our Eya ti Aiye (Earthly Body), in our DNA and RNA. An entire library of information that can be tapped into, hacked, accessed when we are in the vibration of Isopo, connectivity between physical Ori, Spiritual Ori, and the dimension we call the Spirit World. Each of us is a walking, talking, living expression of the history of our Ancestors experiences. They share a special connection and a certain interest in our life journey because we are living our part of a legacy. The poet Khalil Gibran said in his famous book, The Prophet, ‘Our children come through us, not from us!’ So from an Ifa perspective we might ask, what or who is coming through, and what is it that is being passed down from one generation to the next? Let me simply state for now, that whatever it is that is being passed down, it is eternal, expansive, and expanding, and each of us has a part to play in continuing its journey. We might even say that Orisa are here to support the will of our Ori, and we are here to fulfill and continue the legacy of our lineage, our Egun, our Ancestors.
We might also say that when Orisa look upon humans, they see the other, but when Egun look at humans, they see themselves. The distinction being made here is that our Egun are rightly the second to whom we should turn (after our own Ori) because we share a common interest, fulfilling the legacy of lineage that has and will continue to be passed down to and expressed through each of us. We each get to choose the direction, and path that that legacy will take into the future and we, our children, and their descendants will live the consequence of those choices (for better or worst). We are of two interconnected and interdependent realities, the substantial and the insubstantial. We cannot escape living in both. We can only fool ourselves into believing that we have succeeded in choosing one over the other.
“In Ifa, it is understood that, as with logic and intuition, the rational and nonrational, linear and nonlinear were given to us to use and to use together. To Ifa, the singular excesses of materialism are as unintelligent as the singular excesses of spirituality. To use only one half of your capacity – either half – is to play at life with half a deck.”
“From its inception, Ifa has been based on an undeniable pragmatism. We believe in results. Through its ancient rituals and prayers, Ifa shows us that it is not only permissible but imperative that we use our spiritual capacities to favorably influence our everyday lives. …We do this through ancestor worship, divination, and the Orisa.”
I think the following story I read in The Way of the Orisa helps to answer the question, ‘Are ancestors really that powerful?’
“I was in the midst of preparing a paper on some of the histories that comprise the sacred odu, when I suddenly could not remember one particular story. The paper was due in just three days. In your country you might pick up the phone and call someone to find the information, but in truth, these facts were known only by my father, who lived in Lagos, and my deceased grandfather. At that time Nigeria still did not have phones in many individual homes, so contacting my father prior to presentation of my paper would be impossible. Unless I restructured my entire lecture I would have to find the missing history. So, I ‘called’ my grandfather in our way. I used our ritual of ancestor worship to convey to him that I needed his help. The next night, I awakened from a sound sleep to see my grandfather sitting on the edge of my bed. ‘What is the problem Falo?’ he asked. I explained my situation, and he instructed me to get a pencil and paper that I keep near my nightstand. He proceeded to give me the information I had forgotten. When he was finished I expressed my love and gratitude to him, and he expressed his to me. I fell back into a deep sleep. The next morning I awoke with vague memories of the night before, but they seemed more dreamlike than real until I glanced at my nightstand and saw the writing there. Then I remembered my grandfather’s visit. I was able to quickly complete my paper and give a thorough presentation to the class.”
Did you get it?Or did you miss it? Let me point it out again. “When he was finished I expressed my love and gratitude to him, and he expressed his to me.” Falo expressed his love and gratitude to his grandfather, and then he states that his grandfather ‘expressed his to me.’ His what, his love only? I think not! I think Falo was clearly stating that his grandfather expressed both his love AND his gratitude to Falo. And that begs the question, ‘why would his grandfather be expressing gratitude to Falo? And why did he come and provide the only means for Falo to fulfill the will of his Ori? It is because our Ancestors have a vested interest in our success in carrying forward the Ase of our legacy of lineage.
In Ifa, we have a saying,
Ohun Gbogbo ti a ba se laye la ookunle re Lorun!
That which we do on earth, we shall account for in heaven!
This proverb is not talking about hell-fire and brimstone, or about some divine wrath through the endless torment of hell. No! This proverb instructs us that our life and our choices are not to be taken lightly, and not without regard to the legacy of lineage, and our Isopo (connectivity) to our Egun.
“Through ancestor worship, Ifa allows you to experience life as a continuum. And once you have, nothing will ever be the same again. The same kind of attitude changes and life changes that have affected nearly every individual who has come through what we call a near-death experience, who has experienced the other dimension and then been brought back, testifies to the effect of this knowledge. One does not have to die and be brought back to experience it; ancestor worship is our connection to the past and our road map to a better future.”
Ref: Quotes from - “The Way of The Orisa: Empowering Your Life Through the Ancient African Religion of Ifa” by Philip John Neimark, HarperSanFrancisco, ISBN: 0-06-250557-2.
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Modupe!
I hope you will reflect on this message and share your comments and questions with me for our future Posts on this and other topics.
Aajiirebi! May the Unblemished Cloth of Orunmila Continue to cloth us with the Wisdom Of the Here and the Hereafter!
Ase! Ase! Ase!
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Ki Olodumare, Orisa, ati Egun fifun e ni Itona, Imoye, ati Opo Ire!
My Olodumare, Orisa, and Ancestors bestow on you Guidance, Wisdom, and Abundant Blessings!
